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Apple iLife '04: a first look

Rebecca Viksnins CNET

Published: 12 Jan 2004

The iPod Mini may have stolen the spotlight at Macworld San Francisco 2004, but the unveiling of iLife '04, the second generation of Apple's digital-media suite, made for a worthy sideshow. In addition to updated versions of iTunes, iMovie, iPhoto and iDVD, iLife '04 contains a fifth application called GarageBand, which transforms your Mac into a veritable recording studio.

Although some of us prefer to pick and choose our media applications, it's hard to deny the allure of a well-integrated suite. We haven't tested GarageBand yet, but if it delivers on its promise to transform your Mac into a recording studio, it may make iLife '04 a must-have upgrade -- if your machine has guts (G4s only, please). This memory-intensive program lets you compose and record music using built-in loops, pre-recorded instrumentals and beats that you create on the fly. In addition, iLife '04 offers better title tools in iMovie; improved time-based organisation in iPhoto and major updates to iDVD -- where you'll find redesigned themes, support for 99 chapters and supposedly enhanced performance.

GarageBand: turn your Mac into a recording studio.

At £39 (inc. VAT), iLife '04 won't break the bank, but is certainly more expensive than the once free iMovie and iPhoto downloads -- although you can still download a standalone version of iTunes at no cost. And if you haven't already, you'll need to register for a .Mac account, which costs £69 (inc. VAT) per year -- cash that some of us don't have lying around. Also, even though this suite has a lot to offer, you may need more robust programs for certain tasks (say, Photoshop for image editing).

So, should you get an iLife? We'll put iLife '04 through its paces shortly, but based on what we saw at Macworld, '04 looks to be a very good year.

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